Google plans to let you locate your Android XR smart glasses via Find My Device

Last week, Google unveiled Android XR, a new version of the Android operating system that's designed from the ground up for XR headsets and smart glasses. It's the first new Android vertical since Android Automotive was introduced in 2017, so we at Android Faithful were really excited about the announcement. Although Google isn't ready to share all the details on Android XR just yet, the company's VP and GM of AR/XR, Shahram Izadi, revealed one feature we can look forward to: Find My Device support.

Before the interview, I asked my social media followers if they had any questions about Android XR. One question I got was whether the new OS will support Find My Device. Given that items like sunglasses, which are not worn continuously, are often misplaced, it's a logical concern for similarly sized Android XR glasses. In response, Izadi confirmed that Google is planning to support Find My Device for Android XR devices and that the company will share more details soon.

He went on to state that more Android capabilities that we know and love, especially those under the "Better Together" umbrella of features, will be supported by Android XR. Although he stopped short of confirming which "Better Together" features will be included in Android XR, we believe Quick Share is a strong contender as it'll enable seamless file transfers between phones and headsets. We also suspect features like Family Link and multi-user support could be supported, though this is not yet confirmed.

Find My Device support wasn't the only thing we discussed during our interview, of course. During our interview, Izadi also dove deep into the "split-compute configuration" of Android XR for smart glasses, how the new OS optimizes battery life, teased how Gemini will be able to control apps, shared why hardware vendors should choose Android XR, and explained why people should have confidence in Android XR sticking around.

You can catch our full 30 minute interview with Izadi on YouTube, Spotify, PocketCasts, and all the other platforms where we publish our podcast. For your convenience, I've embedded the YouTube upload of episode 75 of the Android Faithful podcast below and configured it to start at the beginning of our interview.

Lastly, here are the questions that we asked Izadi during our interview:

1. At the December 12 developer event, XR Unlocked, the audience heard from several people involved in Android XR across Google, Samsung, and Qualcomm. It was inspiring to hear that at least a couple of these people, including yourself, have a long career in and passion for VR and AR. Can you tell us a little bit about your personal history in AR? What are the possibilities of AR that have fueled your passion for over 20 years?
2. You mentioned during our briefing that Android XR for smart glasses uses a “split-compute configuration” and that most of the heavy computing is offloaded to your smartphone. Given this and the fact that many Gemini queries are run on the cloud, what is Google doing to minimize the latency between when a user asks a question and when they see/receive a response?
3. Battery life is generally one of the weakest aspects of standalone XR devices. How does Android XR manage battery life differently than Android on other form factors, if at all? Are background processes, push notifications, etc. handled differently?
4. One of the most interesting things you said during the briefing is that Gemini in Android XR will be able to control apps. Does this go beyond what it can already do via Extensions? Can you elaborate a bit more on how apps can be controlled via Gemini - is this something that app developers can provide support for?
5. Obviously device support might differ on certain features, but from a platform level, will Android XR support Find My Device?"
6. As you’re well aware, Google isn’t the only one building an XR platform that’s based on AOSP. Can you tell us what sets Android XR apart from the other AOSP-based XR platforms? What does Google bring to the table that other companies building on XR do not, and why should XR hardware vendors choose Android XR over the competition? Can you speak to the decision to create a platform and the importance of openness and partnership with other companies to achieve this goal?
7. This isn’t Google’s first rodeo in XR. Google Glass, Daydream, Project Tango... What is Google doing differently this time around to ensure that Android XR sticks around the way Android for smartphones has?